A University of Illinois official working on a planned public-private research laboratory in Chicago says it could serve as a job creator for the region and a magnet to draw and keep the best and brightest in Illinois.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, roughly one in five school-age children in the United States speaks a language other than English at home, and most of the time that is Spanish.

Bilingual education has been seen as a way to teach English to kids who are learning it as a second language, but some school districts, including Urbana, are ramping up bilingual education programs to prepare all students to be bilingual and biliterate.